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In her 91 years, Ann-Victoria Hadley has often been the most hated person in Snow Hill, Pennsylvania. But now, it’s worse than ever. After a new school board inserted “intelligent design” into the curriculum, they were sued by a coalition including Hadley, the one member of the board who wouldn’t go along with the rest. With the trial about to start and the town a national laughing stock, Annie-Vic is found clubbed into unconsciousness and not expected to survive. The local police chief, one of the school board members, can’t investigate it himself and doesn’t trust the state police. So he brings in Gregor Demarkian. Gregor Demarkian, former FBI agent, is happy to help—his wedding is coming up and he’s desperate for a bit of time away from his too-involved neighbors on Cavanaugh Street in Philadelphia. Even if it is to investigate a brutal crime in a powder-keg of a small town. ** ### From Publishers Weekly Starred Review. Edgar-finalist Haddam's excellent 24th Gregor Demarkian novel (after 2008's *Cheating at Solitaire*) takes a nuanced look at the debate over teaching evolution in public schools. Demarkian, who's about to marry his longtime significant other, Bennis Hannaford, gains a welcome distraction from the last-minute preparations. In Snow Hill, Pa., someone bludgeons 91-year-old Ann-Victoria Hadley, leaving her in a coma. The detective soon learns that Hadley, a recent addition to the school board, was the focus of a heated local controversy for her role in a lawsuit aimed at preventing intelligent design from being taught at the town's schools. While the victim remains unconscious, her assailant strikes again, killing two women who were also plaintiffs in the civil action. Haddam makes characters on both sides of the issue sympathetic, explores the inner life of her detective hero without cluttering up the plot—and offers an ingenious fair-play puzzle. *(Apr.)* Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. ### From Booklist *Starred Review* The Gregor Demarkian series, nearing the 25-volume mark, shows no signs of slowing down. How the author consistently manages to use the traditional mystery format to tackle some of contemporary society’s most volatile issues is itself something of a mystery, but it’s undeniably true that Haddam does what so many other writers fail to do: tell a story that challenges its readers to consider subjects of great social, political, and ethical importance. Here, a 91-year-old woman is beaten nearly to death. Anne Victoria Hadley is part of a group of small-town citizens who are suing the school board for adding “intelligent design” (that is, creationism) to the school curriculum. The local police chief, who is the first to admit he’s one of the prime suspects, asks Demarkian, the former FBI agent, to lead the investigation. The author offers her typically razor-sharp mystery concerning a highly contentious issue, but also does so without taking sides, treating all of her characters, from devout Christians to agnostics (and all points in between), with respect and understanding. Haddam is a fine writer, exhibiting skills rarely glimpsed in the mystery genre. The Demarkian series deserves a much wider audience. --David Pitt